


One for the Files

by tiltedsyllogism



Series: 221bs [1]
Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: 221B Ficlet, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-01
Updated: 2013-02-01
Packaged: 2017-11-27 18:37:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/665171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tiltedsyllogism/pseuds/tiltedsyllogism
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Every good disguise involves pedestrian details, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	One for the Files

Always a queue when one had more pressing arrangements. Tedious. It was a raw and clammy day outside, but the post office was overwarm, crammed full of bodies still wrapped up against the chill. He scrubbed a hand through his hair: his right hand, left hand clutching an unfamiliar satchel that his new self had owned for years. The other self, the real one, had picked it up cheap at a charity shoppe in Kings Walk last week, in anticipation of the long deception that was about to begin.

“Sorry about the wait, sir. How may I help you?”

Tamping down the surge of glee that always accompanied a new role, he instead drew a damaged smile over his face: partial, strained, an emblem of good humor under duress. Experience had taught him, against the grain of his own inclinations, that a flawlessly assumed congeniality did not always produce the results he expected; rather, the failure to mask irritation was often more effective at building rapport. 

“Yes, I’ve just moved to the area, and I’d like to rent a PO box.”

The clerk nodded, not taking her eyes off the monitor. “What’s the name, sir?”

Performance wasted, then, but no matter: it was still a new beginning. A great work was before him, and he permitted himself a full smile. “Brook.”

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Predictable](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1815448) by [thirtypercent](https://archiveofourown.org/users/thirtypercent/pseuds/thirtypercent)




End file.
